Connectivity in Brazilian schools increases after the pandemic, but devices for Internet access by students are lacking, reveals TIC Education 2022

CGI.br Survey, launched this Monday (25th), showed that 94% of primary and secondary institutions are connected to the network, but only 58% have computers and Internet for student use

Internet access is present in 94% of Brazilian schools that offer primary and secondary education, but only slightly more than half of them (58%) have computers (notebooks, desktops, and tablets) and network connectivity for student use. The indicators are part of the TIC Education 2022 survey, which, for the first time in a single data collection, interviewed school administrators, pedagogical coordinators, teachers, and students from schools located in urban and rural areas. Conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), within the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), the study was launched this Monday (25th) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br).

"Education is among the sectors most impacted by the health crisis caused by COVID-19. With the return of in-person activities, it is essential to comprehensively understand how schools have evolved in terms of connectivity and what the perception of school community actors is regarding the current state of access and the use of digital technologies in pedagogical activities and school management," explains Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br | NIC.br.

According to the new edition of the survey, 99% of private schools and 93% of public schools have Internet access, a proportion of 97% among state schools and 93% among municipal schools. In rural areas, 85% of institutions are connected. Regarding the quality of Internet access, 52% of state schools and 46% of private schools declared having 51 Mbps or more in the main connection speed of the institution, a proportion that is 29% in municipal schools.

According to the data collected by the survey at the beginning of the pandemic, 52% of rural schools had Internet access, while this percentage was 79% in schools located in the countryside and 71% among municipal schools. Only 22% of state schools and 11% of municipal schools had a speed in their main Internet connection equal to or greater than 51 Mbps.

Considering only schools that simultaneously have computers and Internet access for student use, this presence is greater among state (82%) and private (73%) schools, while only 43% of municipal schools provide both technological resources, according to the 2022 edition of the survey.

Among schools that offer computers for teaching and learning activities, a greater presence of devices was observed in state institutions – where 86% have a notebook, desktop, or tablet for student use – in schools located in capitals (79%) and those in urban areas (78%). Conversely, municipal institutions (49%), those located in inland cities (61%), and in rural areas (38%) have lower levels in this indicator.

Obstacles to connectivity
The majority of connected primary and secondary institutions have Internet access available for student use in at least one of their spaces (80%). Both in private schools (66%) and municipal schools (60%), this access occurs mainly inside the classroom. In state schools, computer labs (67%) and libraries or study rooms (66%) are the predominant spaces.

Among the factors affecting the connection, situations such as the Internet signal not reaching rooms farther from the router (55%), the Internet not supporting too many accesses at once (50%), and the Internet quality becoming poor (41%) are those that occur most frequently in state schools. In private institutions, these aspects are also mentioned but with lower percentages: 21%, 15%, and 14%, respectively.

In municipal schools, the main obstacle pointed out was the fact that the Internet does not support too many accesses at once (45%), followed by the Internet signal not reaching rooms farther from the router (38%) and the Internet quality becoming poor (35%).

Teachers also perceive aspects related to connectivity as obstacles to the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning activities. The lack of availability of computers for use by teachers or students in school (84%), and the lack of Internet access for use in educational activities (53%) are among the main reasons for not using these resources with students. The distraction of students while using digital technologies in classes is also mentioned by 46% of teachers.

When asked about why they do not use the Internet at school, students also list other aspects, such as teachers not using the Internet in educational activities (64%), the school prohibiting the use of cell phones (61%) or prohibiting Internet access for students (46%).

"The appropriation of digital resources by students and educators in creating learning opportunities and building knowledge is what makes connectivity truly meaningful in education. Based on the data, it is possible to see how the presence and quality of connectivity in schools can affect the opportunities to use educational resources in teaching and learning activities," says Barbosa.

Teacher Training
For 75% of teachers, the lack of a specific course also hinders the adoption of digital technologies in educational activities with students.

According to TIC Education 2022, 56% of teachers in primary and secondary schools reported having participated in continuous training on the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning activities in the 12 months prior to the survey being conducted.

Among the forms of access to this type of qualification, those offered by the government, the city council, and the Department of Education were most cited by public school teachers – state (49%) and municipal (42%). In the case of private school teachers, training offered by the school, in internal training sessions (38%), or training offered by technology companies (30%) prevails.

The use of technologies in the subject area (53%) or student assessment (53%) are among the most addressed topics in the continuous training attended. Training in distance or hybrid education initiatives, which was quite present in the data collected from teachers in the 2021 edition of the survey, was cited by 39% of teachers in the 2022 edition.

Support in sensitive situations
The survey indicators also reveal the importance of schools and educators in the digital education of students. According to the new edition of the survey, 61% of teachers stated they supported students in facing sensitive situations experienced on the Internet. Among the reasons teachers were sought out are: excessive use of games and digital technologies (46%); cyberbullying (34%); discrimination (30%); dissemination or leakage of images without consent (26%); and harassment (20%).

Among students, in almost all age groups, almost half reported turning to teachers or school educators when they need information about using digital technologies: 9 to 10 years old (46%); 11 to 12 years old (43%); 13 to 14 years old (43%); 15 to 17 years old (45%); 18 or older (28%).

"TIC Education offers a detailed mapping for the development of public policies that drive connectivity in schools and the generation of digital skills within the school community. Thus, CGI.br, through NIC.br, provides a concrete contribution for the advancement of the Internet to occur with greater equity in Brazil," commented Renata Mielli, coordinator of CGI.br.

For the full list of indicators collected by the survey, visit: https://cetic.br/pt/pesquisa/educacao/indicadores/.

About the survey
Carried out since 2010, the TIC Education survey aims to investigate the availability of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Brazilian primary and secondary schools, and their use and appropriation by students and educators. In the 2022 edition, 10,448 interviews were conducted in person, between October 2022 and May 2023, in 1,394 public (municipal, state, and federal) and private schools. In total, researchers heard 959 school administrators, 873 coordinators, 1,424 teachers, and 7,192 students.

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), part of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on the development of the network in the country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a Regional Study Center under the auspices of UNESCO and marks 18 years of activity in 2023. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a civil, non-profit entity responsible for the operation of the .br domain, as well as the distribution of IP numbers and the registration of Autonomous Systems in the country. NIC.br implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br since 2005, and all resources raised come from its activities which are of a predominantly private nature. It conducts actions and projects that benefit the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br includes: Registro.br (https://registro.br/), CERT.br (https://cert.br/), Ceptro.br (https://ceptro.br/), Cetic.br (https://cetic.br/), IX.br (https://ix.br/) and Ceweb.br (https://ceweb.br/), and projects such as Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br/) and the Good Practices Portal for the Internet in Brazil (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C São Paulo Office (https://w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating, and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multisectoralism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, praised internationally, where all sectors of society are equally participant in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for the Governance and Use of the Internet (https://cgi.br/resolucoes/documento/2009/003). More information at https://cgi.br/.

Press Contacts – NIC.br:

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https://webershandwick.com.br/
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Communication Advisory – NIC.br
Carolina Carvalho - Communication Manager - carolcarvalho@nic.br
Thiago Santiago - Communication Coordinator - santiago@nic.br 

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